Whispers of the Lifestream
by Esteban T. Rodriguez
Summary: Basically, a noveilisation of the events in Final Fantasy VII, with elements and backstories from all the installments in the series. Rating may go up for language and violent content.
1. Chapter 1: Bombing Mission

AN: This was originally a lazy Sunday project i started working on after seeing the tech demo for Final Fantasy VII on youtube. As you can see, it kinda blossomed out. Since even I was impressed by the work done, I decided to post it here. Hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Chapter One: Bombing Mission

The crack in the pipe was hardly anything to garnish the interest of anyone but the unfortunate soul who had to repair it, or just replace the whole piping system and be done with it. It was a simple hairline fracture, nothing to really attract much attention. However, the lime green mako energy flowing out was something to see to the untrained eye. The globules seemed to spark out slowly, the wisps of planetary energy floating skyward and dissipating.

"Oh, how pretty…" The flower girl said, as she clutched her chest in awe. After taking in the visual for one moment longer, the flower girl collected her basket of flowers and moved out of the alley, into the streets of Sector One.

The towering Shinra Building loomed above the compartmentalized city of Midgar, overseeing all the citizens did, as well as collecting Mako energy with their giant reactors, one in each of the eight sectors above the plate.

There had been rumours of a city the same size, possibly even bigger beneath the plate. However, those rumours said that it was filthy, dangerous and unpleasant down there.

The flower girl knew that these rumours, rumours at least to the people living their comfortable lives up here on the plate, were true, (She lived in the slums herself,) but felt that she had something to do with it. It was a nagging, irritating sensation that had plagued the back of her mind for weeks now, only peaking today.

In her dreams she had seen a young man, with spiky blonde hair, and dressed similar to someone she once knew. But that was a long time ago.

The honk of a nearby truck brought the flower girl back to reality. Posters announcing the production of LOVELESS stared down at her, as she looked up, hearing the roar of a Shinra train above.

For some odd reason, the flower girl smiled and took comfort from that particular train. She didn't know why, but she knew that train would have something to do with the closure she sought.

And so she continued on, selling her flowers to whomever would by, bracing for whatever was to come.

--

The Shinra locomotive plunged ahead into the night, onward to Mako Reactor One. This was one of the eight reactors in Midgar alone. Mako reactors existed all over the world. Fort Condor, Corel, Nibelheim, even the underwater one at the port city of Junon.

The train came screeching to a stop, where the two Shinra conductors waited to debrief the engineers.

What one of them got, however, was a nimble, muscular young lady in a red headband and matching hair leaping out and delivering a quick side kick to his solar plexus.

Respectively, when the other tried to make a break for the alarm bell, a man in a torn shirt and brown headband came out of nowhere and blocked his path. When the guard drew his service revolver, the man grabbed his gun arm and flipped him over his shoulder.

Another man leapt off the train roof, landing hard. He was a large built man, with more than a little plump to him than he would have cared to admit, but that extra weight belied the power he had within him, and the vast amounts of punishment he could take.

"OK, Biggs?" He asked.

"No problem, Wedge!" The man in the brown headband called back, delivering a kick to the conductors chest, disabling him. "Jessie?"

"Doin' fine!" The girl called back, giving a thumbs up.

"Awright, quit stallin'!" A loud voice boomed out. The three scurried up the stair leading to the reactor entrance as Barret Wallace clambered out. The Gatling gun on his right arm, replacing his missing hand was cocked, and showed a full magazine. The gunmetal contrasted with his black skin as he shouted up onto the roof of the train "C'mon, newcomer! Follow me!"

Another figure came out of the top of the train, landing with precision befitting a master. His spiky blonde hair shone in the moonlight, as he raised the large Buster sword that was nearly the size of him, all five feet and eight inches. The foot-wide blade glinted against the station light.

Cloud Strife raised the blade above his head and sent in down into a ready position by his side before running towards the staircase. Before he reached the end of the platform, two Shinra MPs ran out, taking Cloud by surprise.

"Stop right there!" One of them shouted, bringing his Oppressor submachine gun to bear.

Cloud dived low to avoid the three round burst, slicing hard with the sword The gunman fell, screaming as the sword chewed its way through him.

Following through with pulling the embedded sword out, Cloud delivered a kick to the other man's face, sending him over a guard rail and into a staircase.

Swinging around, Cloud pushed off of the gunman with his feet, launching himself into the air and landing beside a nearby door, where the other three had grouped together.

The door led to their target, the Midgar Mako reactor One.

Biggs jumped back in surprise, reaching for his pistol. Only his experience prevented him from firing on Cloud. Not that it would have made much of a difference.

Biggs let out a whistle to show how impressed he was. "You used to be on SOLDIER all right! Not every day we get someone like you here in AVALANCHE."

Jessie's ears perked up and she went for her combat rifle. "Hold it right there, Shinra Dog!" She aimed the rifle for Cloud's chest.

"Hold it, Jess!" Biggs said, grabbing at the barrel. "He used to be in SOLDIER. He quit for them and now he's with us."

Jessie nodded, and eyed Cloud suspiciously as she set to work on the door panel. "Didn't catch your name, friend." Biggs said.

"Cloud." came the response.

Biggs nodded. "Right, Cloud. I'm--"

"I don't care what your names are." Cloud said, his Mako blue gaze straight ahead, his monotone voice not betraying anything but indifference. "Once this job's over and done with, I'm outta here."

Without warning, Barret Wallace appeared beside them, his expression one of frustration and a mild blood lust.

"The hell you all doin'?" He demanded. "I thought I told ya never to move in a group!"

After nobody gave him an answer, Barret shook his head. "Our target's the North Mako Reactor. We'll meet up on the bridge in front of it."

Everyone nodded, save for Cloud. Jessie's tampering got the blast door to the plant open. Biggs and Wedge followed her in. Cloud moved to follow suit, but Barret, being the behemoth of a man that he was, blocked his ingress.

"Ex-SOLDIER, huh?" He spat, crossing his arms. "Don't trust ya." He eyed Cloud with evident disdain before moving so Cloud enter the plant. But not before Cloud got a glimpse of the sheer scale of the Mako reactor.

The plant was a hazardous maze of pipes and steam. Cloud stayed on the hells of the big man, Wedge, until the bridge rendezvous point had been reached. Barret gave the signal to move into the reactor control room, with Wedge covering their escape route, heavy rifle in hand.

The control room was dirty and oily, and looked like it had seen heavy traffic the previous working day.

"Yo!" The brown hand on Cloud's shoulder almost startled him, almost made him crack and show weakness. "This yer first time in a reactor?"

Cloud shoved the offending hand off. "No." He replied, his voice the same monotone sound he had procured when asked about his name. "I used to work for Shinra, y'know."

Barret gave a nod. That should have been enough, but he struck Cloud as the type who would go on a spiel. "The planet's fulla Mako energy. People here use it every day. It's the lifeblood of this planet, but Shinra keeps suckin' it out with these weird machines."

Cloud rolled his eyes. "I'm not here for a lecture." He said. "Let's get this over with."

"That's it!" Barret shouted, obviously irritated by Cloud's cool demeanour. "Yer comin' wid me from now on!"

As Barret's spiel finished, Biggs called up "Code's deciphered! Let's go!"

The small AVALANCE strike team went though the main door and into the facility itself. The room was dimly lit, only the security booth was lit. And inside the booth was an MP watching TV.

Jessie signalled the way was clear, and the team crouched down, avoiding contact with the window level. After passing the small window of bullet-proofed glass, Biggs called up the elevator, allowing everyone access to the lower levels of the reactor.

"Going down." Jessie said as she hit the button in the down position.

Barret harrumphed. "Little by little, the reactors drain all the life outta this planet. Then that'll be that."

"It's not my problem." cloud said, the same empty gaze in his eerie blue eyes.

"T-the planet's dyin', Cloud!" Barret sputtered. How could he be so unconcerned? He was a resident of the planet as well. The planet's problems were his problems, a responsibility shared by every living being on this planet. From the smallest cactaur to President Rudolphus Shinra himself.

But Cloud's resolve wouldn't budge. "The only thing I care about is finishing this job before security and the roboguards pick us up."

Barret looked as if he were about to say something, but the elevator opened instead. Cloud led the way out, leaving Barret alone to deliver a punch to the wall in his anger.

Biggs stood guard by the elevator, as Cloud, Barret and Jessie made their way into the reactor core. The orange glow cast by the lights gave the facility a decidedly eerie feel, as if one could actually feel what Barret described; could actually feel the reactor draining the planet of its Mako.

Cloud went ahead, down a ladder to the central control console. Barret followed him closely, after ordering Jessie to give them cover. She nodded, cocking the vicious looking combat rifle she carried.

The main panel was a large piece of equipment, reaching at least two stories high. But that kind of height was nothing compared to the cavernous pit that ended in the sickly green glow of Mako below.

The catwalk Cloud tread upon was sturdy, but critical. If even so much as one bolt went, anyone foolish enough to be treading this path would have been cast, possibly headfirst, into the Mako stream. All that would be left for burial, at most would have been a finger, thanks to the refining process of turning raw Mako into usable energy.

Cloud had learned in SOLDIER not to dwell on such things; they affected your mind, your duty and your aim.

_Put it out of your mind._ The man from SOLDIER said the first time Cloud met him.

_Wait, that had to be me_. Cloud thought. I_ was in SOLDIER. How could I be in two places at once, let alone be in a separate body to talk to myself? What the hell is going on?_

Cloud's train of thought was interrupted by a glint just ahead of him on the catwalk. Leaning down to inspect it, Cloud revealed the slightest ghost of a smile at his discovery. This was materia, the key to the magic that SOLDIER used, orbs of every color that were absorbed by the body, yet removable just as easily.

He remembered that someone once said that all the wisdom and magic of the Ancients was attainable through materia, that forming a symbiosis with one allowed access to the orbs specific powers.

Cloud remembered that trip, just before the "incident" as the newspapers called it. The trained mind knew not to rely on that rag, Cloud knew. Shinra printed that paper and dictated what it read.

The materia called to him, speaking in hushed tones in a language cloud didn't understand. He remembered his first mission as a first-class SOLDIER, envious of how all the SOLDIERs got mastered materia, with all the abilities at the ready. He remembered dreaming of the day when he got into SOLDIER…

_Wait, I was already in SOLDIER_. Cloud thought. _Yeah, that's right._

Barret's robust voice snapped him back to reality. "When this thing blows, there ain't gonna be much left 'cept a hunka junk!" He said grimly, looking about the valve system. "Cloud, you set the bomb."

Cloud eyed Barret suspiciously. "Shouldn't you do it?" He asked.

"Jus' do it!" Barret demanded. "I gotta make sure you don't pull nothin'"

"Fine." Cloud said. "be my guest."

As was arranged back at the AVALANCE base back in Sector 7, Cloud removed the necessary parts from a small backpack he had. After connecting the circuits, he placed the magnetic charge onto the primary Mako conduit, where the explosion would reach its peak.

A sudden ringing in his ears warned hi to what was coming.

_Watch out!_ a voice inside his head ordered. It sounded like cloud's voice, but distorted with other voices that he recognised as also being his. The whole thing made no sense. _This isn't just a reactor_.

Barret seemed to pick up on Cloud hearing this voice. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Cloud looked at Barret puzzled for a moment. "Huh?" was all he could muster.

"What's the hold-up?" Barret demanded. "Get movin', Cloud!"

Cloud gave his head a shake. "Yeah," He said. "Sure…"

After flipping the timer switch, an alarm went off. The reactor's security system had detected the foreign object, and had brought out the big guns.

A giant robotic device landed on the catwalk just before cloud and Barret. It's design and armour plating gave it the appearance of a giant sand scorpion, complete with a nasty looking laser on the tip of where the stinger should be and twin Vulcan cannons flanking the headpiece.

_If nothing else, Shinra's sure imaginative._Cloud thought, as he drew his sword. He remembered Scarlet, the sadistic witch of a woman behind Shinra's weapons development program mentioning this as standard guard force for all Shinra installations. If they ever got approved.

It looked like she had got her wish.

Barret began to fire his gun-arm, aiming for the lighted panels that indicated eyes, trying to blind it.

The robotic creature lunged at Cloud, who ducked and swung with his sword. The blade cleaved through the claw on the tip of it's leg, and only mildly impeded the monstrosity.

"Barret!" Cloud called, trying to fend off another claw. "Don't attack while the tail's up! It'll counter attack with it's laser!"

"Jus' keep it together!" Barret shouted. "Stand back!"

After hitting a switch on the Gatling gun, Barret's gun began to shake. A bright red ball of energy collected at the tip of the barrel, building up to a huge mass of fire. He released it at the scorpion, hitting it right on target. It faltered, evidently damaged, but got back up and fired it's twin cannons.

Barret charged at it, firing the gun as he went. Rolling underneath the guard scorpion, he fired into its underbelly, damaging its internal components.

The creature began to wobble uncontrollably, as its servos overloaded. Cloud pushed off of the catwalk railing, flipping in the air and delivering a crushing blow right into the center of the headpiece.

The tail came up, laser levelled at Cloud. He dived off towards Barret as the laser went high, damaging a section of wall.

Another blast from Barret's cannon to the back section disabled the scorpion. Cloud grabbed a hold of the railing on his landing, barely on the catwalk.

In his peripheral vision, he saw several support joints for the catwalk that had been rusted. And now, the scorpion was getting underway again.

"What now, tough guy?" Barret asked, barely serious.

"Shoot out the support joints on the other side!" Cloud shouted, not wasting any time as he ran to the door. "I've got the ones back here!"

Barret fired, his shots hitting their marks. The joints on the other side gave under his high-calibre fire, as Cloud cleaved off the rest of the joints.

Barret leapt back onto the ladder as the weight of the guard scorpion caused the catwalk to give, falling into the raw Mako.

Cloud leapt back up onto the pipes above the ladder, just before where they left Jessie on guard.

"C'mon, let's get out of here!" He called swinging back up to the upper catwalk.

"Jessie, move!" Barret said. "We're gettin' outta here!"

Jessie moved to comply, but cried out shortly after Barret disappeared up the stairwell.

Cloud turned to see her struggling. Her foot was evidently caught, and she was having trouble freeing it.

Damn! Cloud thought. The whole Shinra army was alerted to their presence, and the time bomb fixed to the reactor had less than five minutes left to go now. And here, Jessie was caught.

"Damn it all…" Cloud mumbled and darted down the pipes to help her.

"Thanks, Cloud!" She said, a smile on her face.

"Save it." Cloud said as they both ran up the stairs back to the elevator.

"What kept ya?" Biggs asked when he saw them rushing for the lift. "C'mon, let's go!"

Cloud left the subject as they reached the upper level. The entire AVALANCE crew piled out of the elevator, racing for the exit where Wedge was waiting to conduct them to safety.

The last line of defence were three Shinra MPs, ready with their Oppressors.

Jessie got off the first shot, cracking one of the blast helmets in two. Bigg's quick trigger finger brought down the last one, while Cloud leapt into the air and brought his sword down onto the MP's head.

The blade went clean through the console behind the guard, as his lifeless body slumped to the ground. His head was cleaved in two with no effort from the large sword.

Cloud didn't waste any time for showing off, as the reactor bomb went off, singing the heels of his shoes as he leapt to safety.

Up above, the explosion of the Mako reactor deafened the neighbouring Sectors 2 and 8. Debris was thrown even outside of the city limits, despite the large perimeter walls being built like a fortress.

And from his perch atop the 69th floor of the Corporate Plaza, even the Shinra President, Rudolphus Shinra took time to look out his window in shock, seeing one of the biggest and most intimidating of Shinra landmarks being destroyed.


	2. Chapter 2: Anxious Hearts

Chapter 2: Anxious Hearts

The debris filled tunnel presented something of a challenge. First, Wedge brought out the large search lamp he carried with him - something to do with him being scared of the dark.

And second, there was little to no cover, for Jessie had packed the emergency charge she brought with a bit too much explosive.

Wedge came barreling out of the freshly created hole before everyone else, screaming about how his eyebrows were on fire.

It took at least thirty seconds for Biggs to calm him down and stop screaming before Shinra picked them up again.

"Well," Biggs said, kneeling to catch his breath. "That should keep the planet going. For at least a little longer."

"Yeah, now let's get outta here!" Barret said. "Rendezvous at the Sector 8 station. Split up and get on that train!"

Tones of affirmation went around and the three AVALANCE member ran off in different directions.

Cloud and Barret, however, stayed behind.

"Hey," Cloud began.

"If it's about yer money, save it 'til we get back to the hideout." Barret snarled over his shoulder before running off.

Cloud shook his head and ran up a nearby set of stairs to the street above.

The street was complete pandemonium. Cars had crashed, thugs were looting everything in sight, at least until the Shinra riot control parties showed up, and people ran for their lives.

And those who appeared to be decent, honest people were now brandishing sidearms for their protection.

And in the midst of all of it, there was a seemingly helpless girl in a small red denim mini-jacket over a pink dress. The girl dusted herself off after being thrown to the ground, and picked up a basket full of flowers.

As Cloud made his way through the wreckage, she approached him.

"Excuse me?" the flower girl asked. "What just happened? I heard an explosion."

"Nothing." Cloud said, a little too quickly. It wasn't every day he saw a girl this pretty. Her hair was a light shade of brown, and her eyes were a pale green light, with a constant smile reflected in them. "Hey, listen, don't see too many flowers around here."

"Hmm?" The girl asked. "Oh, these. Do you like them? They're only a gil."

Cloud dug into his pocket, finding a small abundance of the coins. After finding a one gil value, he handed it over to her.

"Oh, thank you!" The flower girl smiled, only making her look even prettier. She dug for a flower in her basket and retrieved a pale yellow one. "Here you are." She said and moved off.

Cloud stared at the flowers, wondering what the hell possessed him to buy a flower amidst the wreckage of a Mako reactor he helped destroy.

Balancing out, perhaps? After dealing with so much death, trying to surround himself with life?

Cloud tucked the flowers inside his pocket and ran off, towards the main square. The interruption of Mako energy caused several lights to short and dangerous blue arcs to be cast from several control antennae.

As Cloud approached the Sector 8 tunnel, a voice called out from behind.

"Hey! You there!"

Shinra! Damn! They'd picked him up. Even if he played innocent, they'd take him to the Shinra tower and question him. Then the truth would come out. That and the large sword on his back was something of a dead giveaway.

Cloud halted in his tracks, waiting for the soldiers to come up alongside him. The, as one of the reached for a notepad, he grabbed the man's wrist and threw him over his shoulder.

The soldiers partner reached for his Oppressor, but Cloud grabbed the stock of the gun, and drove his elbow into the man's chin, separating the gun from its user. The user never got back up.

With his cover blown, Cloud ran down a nearby alley and into the street. Two more soldiers opened fire from behind him.

Cloud somersaulted out of their line of fire, using a building for cover.

Until three more soldiers flanked him from the right, bringing their nightsticks and combat shields out.

Cloud's Buster sword came out slashing through one soldier. He fell, screaming and Cloud brought the sword around again, taking down another.

The remaining soldier finally got his gun cocked and prepared to fire. Cloud brought the sword down again, cutting off the stock of the Oppressor, and bringing his elbow to the soldier's face.

Seeing more reinforcements on their way, Cloud turned about face and ran in the opposite direction. One of the arcing wires was above the fresh batch of soldiers that had appeared before him.

Kicking the service pistol out of one of the soldier's hands, Cloud caught the pistol in mid air and in the same follow-through motion, took careful aim and fired.

The wire came down onto the men, who crossed over a puddle. The three were electrocuted instantly, with Cloud turning about, purposely trying to avoid the smell of burning flesh.

The Shinra MPs had closed in now. One for every man he had just defeated.

That brought the count up to eight against one. Not very promising odds, especially with Cloud's back against a rail.ing

"That's as far as you go!" One of the men called.

Just after the words escaped his mouth, Cloud heard the rumble of a train approaching, just under him. The tunnel ended just behind him, giving him a small window to get on the train Barret had mentioned.

"I don't have time to be messing with you guys." Cloud said, and without another word, he vaulted over the railing before any of the men could get off a shot and onto the roof of the passing train. Before any of the Shinra men could so much as get off a shot, the train had disappeared into a tunnel. And Cloud with it.

--

One of the drawbacks of the AVALANCE crew was their ability for pointing out the obvious.

"Cloud never came." Wedge said, sadly. The heavy machine gun by the large man was a direct contrast to his soft and tender personality.

"Hmph." Biggs said at the other end of the cargo car. "Cloud. Wonder if he was killed?"

Barret simply shook his head. "No way." He had seen the way Cloud fought, a guy like that didn't go down so easy.

And everyone couldn't be sure, but they thought they heard a soft whisper of "Cloud…" coming from Jessie at the very rear of the car.

A loud thumping from the roof drew everybody's attention, but was dismissed as the tracks all too quickly.

"Say," Biggs piped up. "D'ya think cloud's gonna fight to the end for AVALANCHE?"

"The hell would I know?" Barret boomed. "I look like a mind reader to you?" He hit a nearby crate to voice his frustration. "If y'all weren't such screw-ups…"

"H-hey Barret?" Wedge asked timidly. "What about our money?"

Another slam on the crate showed Wedge it was not the appropriate time to ask.

And then the thumping continued, as if it were coming from the main door. And then without warning the door flew open, and a flash of navy blue and blonde came into the car.

"CLOUD!" Everyone called.

Cloud, a bit dirty from the train's smoke, wiped his eyes to clear his vision. "Looks like I'm a little late." He said, dryly.

"You damn right you're late!!" Barret shouted. "Come waltzin' in here, makin' a big scene!"

"It's no big deal." Cloud said. "Just what I always do."

"Shit!" Barret hissed. "Havin' everybody worried about ya, don't care 'bout nobody but yourself."

"You were worried about me?" Cloud said, feigning ignorance to see Barret squirm.

And squirm he did. "I'm takin' it outta your money, hotshot!" Barret boomed. "Wake up, all of ya! We're movin' out! Follow me!"

Barret led the way through the boxes to the cars further ahead.

"Hey, Cloud!" Wedge whispered. "You were great back there!"

Biggs was next to pay his respect, by clapping Cloud on the shoulder. "Ha ha, Cloud! We'll do even better next time!"

The door closed as Jessie made her way through. "Oh, Cloud!" She said. "You're face is as black as soot! Here." She took out a handkerchief, rubbing away the worst of it.

_Reminds me of my mother._ Cloud thought, squirming slightly the way he used to in his younger days.

"There." Jessie smiled. "That's better! Say, thanks for helping me out back at the reactor."

She went back along the route the others had taken, Cloud at the end.

The adjoining car was considerably nicer in terms of design. Cloud noticed that the most luxurious accommodation was that the car actually had seats.

The intercom announced that he was aboard the last train out of Sector 8, bound for the Train Graveyard in Sector 7, at about twenty three minutes after midnight, Midgar standard time.

A span of sixty kilometres in fifteen minutes. The train systems speed only showed just how big of a city Midgar really was.

And such a big city had to be inhabited by people of equal scale, as Barret Wallace burst though the door, making a ruckus and scaring off the majority of the passengers. If his entrance didn't convince them to leave, the Gatling gun on his arm did.

"Huh!" He said, bringing his bulk down onto the beaten red leather seat with a sharp slap. "Funny how it cleared up so damn quick!"

With all the seats empty, the AVALANCHE members took their pick, while Cloud simply stood.

"Stop actin' like a damn kid!" Barret reprimanded him "Siddown and shut up!"

Cloud shrugged, not wanting another argument and plopped himself down beside Wedge.

The big man leaned in close to Cloud and spoke "Someday, AVALANCE is gonna be famous! And me too!"

"Hmm," Cloud grunted, nodding to make the big man hush.

Just as Wedge opened his mouth to follow up, Jessie piped up.

"Hey, Cloud! Come look at the map reader with me."

The feisty redhead grabbed Cloud's arm and dragged him over to a terminal. "This is a map of the Midgar rail system. It'll start in a little bit. I like this kinda stuff. Bombs, monitors, y'know. Flashy stuff."

The display certainly wasn't disappointing. The circular city appeared before Cloud and Jessie, showing a lime-green wire frame blueprint of the city at a one to ten-thousandth scale. Even then, it took up the entire sixty inch monitor.

The route of the train was highlighted along a spire that stretched along the very foundations of the towering Corporate Plaza. The Shinra building was at the dead center of the city, matching in height what the city did in breadth.

The map even displayed the numbered sectors, on the surface of the metal plate the citizens of Midgar lived on, where they got a clear view of the sky. Where the Mako reactors and corporate workers were housed, the plate stood fifty meters off the ground, allowing for a generous "basement" as the public works administration called it.

In that basement beneath the plate, however, there was a completely different city altogether. The residents of the lower city, the slums, as they were known, were confined in filthy conditions, little to no money and all but hidden from the upper plate. The only thing Shinra did was maintain the support structures of the plate, keeping it safely above ground. The primary one being underneath the Corporate plaza, while each numbered sector had their own support pillars.

The same Sectors existed, and transportation was possible between the upper and lower plates. However, most people from the slums never even made it to see the sun or the stars, so poor were they.

In addition to the conditions that were imposed on them, the people of the slums also had to deal with a much higher crime rate. The Shinra Corporation, which controlled everything in the city, had all but forsaken the slums. Not even the police would venture down into the slums, leaving the residents to fend for themselves against gang activity and multiple offences to grievous and numerous to even consider.

But, all the map was designed to show were the stops the trains made. And that's just what it did.

"Each city in Midgar used to have a name." Jessie said. "But nobody remembers them anymore. Now, instead of names, we just refer to them as numbered sectors, each with its own Mako reactor."

Jessie leaned in towards Cloud and whispered. "The number one we just blew up was in the northern section." After re-establishing her distance, she peered at the map. "

"We're coming up on an ID transponder." Jessie said, keeping her voice down. "Those are established at certain checkpoints, after Shinra won the war against Wutai. It checks the identity and background of everyone on the train and relays the information back to Shinra Headquarters, where all the files are stored in the central databank."

Jessie allowed herself a wide grin. "The fake IDs I set up will allow us to pass through."

Without warning, the lights in the car turned red, causing Wedge to jump.

"Speak of the devil." Jessie said. "There's the ID checkpoint now."

After a few moments, the light faded and Barret peered out the window.

"Look," He said. "You can see the plate surface now. The city under the plate don't have no day or night. If it weren't for the plate, we could see the sky."

Cloud looked out the window as well, seeing the underside of the plate recede as the train plunged deeper into the city. "A city on stilts," He said. "Pretty unsettling when you think about it."

"Never expect ta hear that outta someone like you." Barret snorted. "You jes fulla surprises. The upper world, a city on a plate, it's cuz of that fuckin' pizza that people down here are sufferin'! And down here, the city's fulla polluted air. An on topa that, the reactors keep drainin the energy clean outta this planet."

"Then why doesn't everyone move up onto the plate?" Cloud said. "If it's so bad down here?"

"Dunno." Barret said. "Mebbe it's cuz they ain't got no money. Or mebbe cuz they love their land so much that they'll stick with it, no matter how polluted it gets."

"Yeah," Cloud said, peering out the window again. "Nobody lives in the slums because they want to. It's like this train. It can't run anywhere except where its wheels take it."

As Barret eyed Cloud after hearing this from the man who said the planet dying wasn't his problem, the train whistle blew and the cavalcade came to a halt at the Sector 7 station.

Everyone piled out, eager to go and get some rest. Barret stood in the middle of the platform and called out "Git over here, all of ya!"

Cloud walked over, while Biggs and Wedge ran to get there first. Jessie came last, after bidding the conductor good night.

"This mission was a success, but don' get lazy now. The hard part's still to come. Don't y'all be scared of that explosion, cuz the next one's gonna be even bigger than that!"

After a collective cheer, Barret hushed everyone back up. "Meet back at the hideout. Move out!"


	3. Chapter 3: Cloud's Promise

Chapter 3: Cloud's Promise

After everyone had once again gone their separate routes to go back to the hideout, cloud made his way over piles of debris that had collected over the years, down into the small group of houses near the station.

Everyone else waited outside a large two story building that read "Seventh Heaven".

Barret rushed in, gunfire erupting shortly afterwards. People came running out, fearing for their lives, and them complaining when the AVALANCE crew went back inside.

Cloud decided that he was permitted too, after seeing the barmaid come storming out and shout.

"Damn it, Barret! You know I've got to fix the holes in the walls you just made! That just costs us more money!"

Barret simply chuckled. "You wanna go see your baby?" He smirked at Cloud.

Cloud blinked at him. "My 'baby'?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Don' act like you don't know what I mean." Barret said. "Get your spiky ass in there!"

The interior of the bar was simple, but it had a charm about it that very few people understood, but everyone appreciated.

The same could be said for the bartender, the same one who was just yelling at Barret. She was already starting to put posters and furniture over the bullet holes Barret had just made.

A young girl in a purple dress suddenly leapt out of nowhere, calling out "Papa!"

When she saw that it was indeed Cloud, her head drooped and she scuttled away to the corner from whence she came.

The bartender set down the chair and ran to the girl. "Marlene," She said gently. "Aren't you going to say anything to Cloud?"

"No." The girl said. "I want papa."

"He'll be here soon." The bartender said. She then rose, meeting Cloud's gaze.

Her eyes were the most fantastic shade of warm red, thanks to some genetic quirk that nobody could explain and always housed a smile. She wore her black hair long, parted in a dolphin's tail at the end down near the small of her back. She wore a simple black mini-skirt, supported by suspenders over a simple white midriff shirt that showed the slightest bit of her naval. The white, however made her already large endowments look even bigger

If one looked closely, one could see part of a long scar that reached across her abdomen and up part of her stomach. It didn't take a rocket scientist to know that she was indeed very insecure about it. The red combat gloves, designed to fit snugly over her black arm stockings showed that she was capable of taking care of herself if trouble found her.

The simple earrings shone in the dull light, and the simple red sneakers with the black socks only made her fair skin shine. Her thin lips pursed before speaking.

"Welcome back, Cloud." Tifa Lockheart said, a lopsided grin taking precedence over her lovely features.

"Tifa." Cloud said, simply nodding his head.

"Looks like everything went well," Tifa commented, looking over at Biggs and Wedge, gorging themselves on food and drink. "Did you fight with Barret?"

Cloud looked away for a second, giving Tifa the message she sought. "I should have known," She said, planting her hands on her hips. The knowing grin however, didn't fade. "He's used to pushing people around, and I remember you've been in fights ever since you were little."

"You don't seem to worry so much back then." Cloud said, looking at Tifa out of the corner of his eye. Those days on the cobblestoned roads of Nibelheim weren't too easily forgotten.

"You knew what you were doing then." Tifa said. "This time I was worried. You all cold have died out there tonight."

It was then that Tifa noticed a small glint of yellow in Cloud's pocket. "Flowers?" She asked. "You almost never see them in the slums."

Cloud set his bag down on the floor, taking the flowers out of the right compartment of his pants.

"Oh, Cloud, you shouldn't have." Tifa said, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink as she beamed.

"No big." Cloud said, handing the flowers to Marlene. The young girl looked up and instantly brightened when she saw that they indeed were for her.

Marlene looking intently at her flowers. Tifa however, looked downcast, and the smile faded away from her face.

The mood however changed when Barret crashed through the door, causing Marlene to beam.

"Papa!" she exclaimed, running into the big man's arms. In return, Barret scooped the girl up into his arms. With one quick sweep, Barret set Marlene up onto his right shoulder.

"Heyy, Kiddo!" He bellowed, kissing her square on the cheek.

Noticing a bit of yellow he hadn't before, Barret asked "Where'd you get that flower?"

"Cloud gave it to me." she said, quietly. So quietly, Cloud almost didn't hear it.

"That right?" Barret asked, looking back at Cloud. The ex-SOLDIER turned away, abashed. "Did you thank him?" Barret asked.

Marlene looked down for a moment, and then looked back. "Thank you, Cloud." she said, so quietly Cloud coudl barely hear her. "We'll take care of you."

"How'd it go, Barret?" Tifa asked.

"Great!" Barret replied, moving over to the pinball machine in the corner.

"Get in here, fools!" He called. "We're startin' the meeting."

Barret hit a concealed switch beneath the pinball unit, causing it and the floor beneath to sink. Biggs, Wedge and Jessie followed him down, into the hidden AVALANCHE base of operations.

Cloud, however, sat on one of the green barstools, Tifa took her position behind the bar.

"How about something to drink?" She asked, leaning one arm on the counter.

"Sure." Cloud said. "Gimme something hard."

"Okay." Tifa said, going to the impressive array of bottles behind her. After fetching a small tumbler, she filled it approximately a third of the way full of Junon whiskey.

Cloud's eyebrows rose. SOLDIERs and airmasters alike drank that like no tomorrow, being one of the hardest liquors outside of Shinra regualtions. Cloud silently complimented Tifa on her choice. Destroying a twenty-story tall Mako reactor was no mean feat.

Tifa plunked a couple of ice cubes into the tumbler and sent it sliding across the bar. With his right hand, Cloud almost lazily reached out and caught it. He downed it quickly, allowing the smokey taste to fill his mouth and prepare him for the burn of the stuff going down.

"You know, I'm glad you made it back safely." Tifa said, her expression serious.

"What's with you all of a sudden?" Cloud said, lowering the empty glass to the counter. "It wasn't even a tough job."

"I guess not." Tifa said, refilling the glass. "You were in SOLDIER, after all."

Cloud said nothing and downed the second shot just as easily as he had the first.

"Well, just make sure you get your pay from Barret." Tifa said, trying to make conversation.

"Don't worry." Cloud said. "Once I get that money, I'm outta here."

The ex-SOLDIER pushed himself up off the barstool, and made for the pinball machine.

"Cloud, are you feeling all right?" Tifa asked, her eyebrows furrowed with concern.

"Yeah." Cloud said. "Why?"

Tifa opened her mouth as if to say something, but evidently decided against it. "Never mind," She said instead. "You just look a little tired I guess."

Cloud decided to let it go and triggered the same hidden switch that brought the AVALANCHE crew down below.

The hideout was a cramped control room, with a central meeting table, a large TV set to the Midgar news channel, as well as a computer tucked into one corner and a punching bag in another.

Barret saw currently using said punching bag, as Marlene watched, enraptured by her father's strength.

"Yo, Cloud!" Barret said, after one last left hook. "There's somethin' I wanna ask you."

"Shoot." Cloud said.

"Was there anyone from SOLDIER fighting us tonight?" Barret asked, crossing his arms.

"None" Cloud said. "I'm positive."

Barret nodded, not taking his eye off the punching bag. "You sound pretty sure 'bout that."

"Trust me." Cloud said. "If there was anyone from SOLDIER there today, you wouldn't be standing here."

That prompted a response from Barret. "Don't go thinkin' you so badass jes' cuz you was in SOLDIER!" He spat, lunging for Cloud. Biggs caught hold of Barret, trying to restrain him. However, Barret took his frustration out on Biggs, knocking him halfway across the room for his trouble.

"Yeah, sure yer strong." Barret said. "Probably all them guys in SOLDIER are. But don't forget that your skinny ass is workin' for AVALANCHE now. Don't get no ideas 'bout hangin' onta Shinra."

"Staying with Shinra?" Cloud said. "You asked me a question and I answered it, that's all. I'll be upstairs; I wanna talk about my money."

Almost as if on cue, Tifa appeared behind Cloud. "Wait," she said.

"Let im go, Tifa." Barret sneered. "Looks like he still misses the Shinra."

"Shut up." Cloud snapped, a bit too quickly. "I don't care about Shinra or SOLDIER. But don't get me wrong; I don't care about AVALANCHE either, or the planet for that matter!"

With that, Cloud stormed back up the pinball machine gate to the upper bar. He prepared to walk out the door, when he heard the pinball machine's clanking and soft booted footsteps behind him.

"Listen, Cloud." Tifa said, her voice betraying one of the rare times she was genuinely upset. "I'm asking you, please join us."

Cloud shook his head. "Sorry, Tifa." He said, going for the door once more.

"The planet is dying, Cloud." Tifa said. "Slowly, but surely, it is dying. Someone has to do something."

"Then let Barret and his buddies do something about it." Cloud said, looking Tifa straight in the eye. "It's got nothing to do with me."

Without another word, he turned for the door.

"So!" Tifa huffed, putting her hands on her hips. "You're just going to walk out on your childhood friend?"

Cloud bit his tongue, stopping himself from saying something rash. All that came out was a lame sounding "Sorry."

"You forgot the promise too." Tifa prodded.

Cloud turned around. "Promise?" He asked.

Tifa shook her head. "So you really _did_ forget. Remember, Cloud? It was seven years ago, at the well. Do you remember?"

"Yeah," Cloud said, his memories flooding back to him.

Seven years ago.

Cloud Strife sat up on the water tower in his hometown of Nibelheim. The fall weather was really starting to put a chill in the air, making him wish he had listened to his mother and brought a coat.

_She's not going to come. _he thought. All that for nothing, drumming up the courage to ask the most beautiful girl in all of Nibelheim to meet him after dark, at the water tower.

Most of his peers had teased him about it; the well was a common place for young couples to lose their innocence to each other. But Cloud had asked her up here for a different reason that to get her to take off her clothes for him.

When young Mark Stevenson had made kissie lips at him, and pulled out specific segments of his shirt to imitate Tifa's bust, Cloud broke his jaw in three places, and gained a five day suspension from school as consequence.

Then, he heard a creak of worn wood behind him. Cloud turned to see Tifa Lockheart, in a simple blue dress, just like he had seen her wearing earlier today.

"Sorry I'm late." Tifa said. "Supper with dad was real long."

Tifa came and sat down next to Cloud. "It was meatloaf night tonight. You know how dad's so proud of his meatloaf and ALWAYS makes me have seconds to make sure it's not total crap. But you wanted to talk to me about something Cloud?"

Cloud nodded. "Come this spring, I'm leaving this town for Midgar."

Tifa sighed. "All the boys are leaving our town."

Cloud shook his head and rose to his feet. "But I'm different from all of them. I'm not just going to find any job in the big city. I'm gonna join SOLDIER, and I'm gonna be the best there is, just like Sephiroth."

"Sephiroth…" Tifa said, in awe. Even in the backwater town that Nibelheim was, word of Sephiroth still reached out here. Her father watched the news closely, there was always word on the Shinra Corporation's war with Wutai, always something about some successful campaign against them, led by the SOLDIER operatives.

More often than not, the campaign was led by Sephiroth.

Tales of his almost supernatural strength and skill were everywhere. Young men idolized him, young women lusted after him. To almost everyone, Sephiroth was a hero.

Which meant that Cloud had his work cut out for him.

"Isn't it hard to join SOLDIER?" She asked, knowing that was one of the biggest understatements she had ever uttered.

"Uh-huh." Cloud said. "I probably won't be able to come back here for a ling time."

Cloud never could be sure, but he could have sworn he heard a stifled sob when he said that. Just as he was about to ask if Tifa was all right, she spoke.

"Will you be in the newspapers if you do well?"

"Probably." Cloud replied.

After another breif silence, Tifa asked "Hey Cloud, will you promise me something?"

"What?" Cloud said.

"Uhm…" Tifa thought. "If you get really famous, and if I'm in a bind, you come save me, all right?"

"What?" Cloud asked. Tifa was always saying that she was self-reliant, that she didn't need anyone but herself. If anything, she was the one who took care of everyone else, made everyone else happy, thinking of herself last.

"When I'm in serious trouble, my hero will come to rescue me." Tifa said. "I want to experience that at least once."

Cloud was still confused. He himself was a loner at heart, not really having to worry about anyone but him. He didn't want to worry about anyone but, him, but this was Tifa...

"Come on!" Tifa said, almost in a teasing tone. "Promise me! Please?"

"All right." Cloud said. "I promise."

Present day.

"You remember now, don't you?" Tifa asked, inside the bar in Sector 7. "Our promise."

Cloud turned away, avoiding the dark red gaze of those eyes that bore into his soul. He thought she was pretty then, hell, he thought she was gorgeous now, but he couldn't even look her in the eye and be truthful.

"I'm not a hero and I'm not famous." He said. "I can't keep the promise."

"Can't or won't?" Tifa asked, starting to look hurt. "You got your childhood dream, didn't you? You joined SOLDIER."

Cloud shook his head. "Tifa, please try to understand…"

"Oh, come on!" Tifa said, now trying to keep her emotions at bay. However, her eyes were beginning to brim. "You've got to keep your promise!"

Without warning, Barret appeared beside her. For such a big man, he had a way of sneaking up on people.

"Wait a sec, big-time SOLDIER." he said, a bag of coins in his good hand. "A promise is a promise. Here."

He tossed the bag to Cloud, who snatched it out of the air. Opening it up, he counted the contents, all one-thousand five hundred gil.

Less than half of what he originally signed up for.

"This is my pay?" Cloud leered. "Don't make me laugh."

Tifa's ears perked up. "Does that mean you'll…"

"You got the next mission lined up?" Cloud asked. "I'll do it for three thousand."

Barret spluttered. "What??"

"It's OK, it's OK." Tifa whispered to him. "We're really hurting for help right? And you've got that other stash."

"That money's for Marlene's schoolin'!" Barret hissed and bellowed at Cloud "TWO thousand!"

Cloud sighed and shrugged his shoulders, pocketing his measly salary. Tifa smiled. "Thanks, Cloud." She said, "C'mon, let's get some rest."

Cloud followed Tifa to the back room, where several cots had been erected. Wedge was already fast asleep, clutching a stuffed moogle close. Jessie was reading, while Biggs was throwing a ball into the air and catching it, trying to improve his reflexes.

Cloud lay down on one of the cots out of the way and fell asleep.


End file.
